Annoyed neighbor takes it out on girl’s kitten — in the worst way

A man in Pasadena, Texas, who pleaded guilty to killing a little girl’s kitten reportedly got one year in jail.

According to Houston’s KHOU-Channel 11, Ricardo Payta-Brondo was upset that the cat had been keeping him up at night. Jurors considering his punishment were told that the lack of sleep added to Payta-Brondo’s stress, which included marriage problems.

“He goes into work at five in the morning. The cat was constantly scratching at his window, waking him up, keeping him up all night. Concurrently, he was having family problems with his wife. Everything just kind of boiled up in one action. Something that he’s sorry for,” said defense attorney Ralph Alvarez.

The 8-year-old, Michele Arizpe, was playing in an apartment complex’s courtyard during the January attack, KHOU says. She says she watched as Payta-Brondo snatched the cat from her and took it inside his apartment. He then killed it and dumped it at a trash bin, KHOU says.

From the witness stand, Payta-Brondo told jurors his wife left him after the incident. He also asked for forgiveness, but added the same thing could have happened to anyone at any time.